Yeah there's not much denying that GUTS performance was just okay. It didn't flop, it topped the charts, and it was talk of social media when it dropped, but I also feel like it was expected to do more than it did. It was a successful album rather than a blockbuster album. I personally think she didn't evolve enough into her sophomore record, pop audiences have an insatiable desire for their favourite artists to go through some kind of metamorphosis between records, you could see the interest wane the second she revealed the album cover, which looks like it very well could have come from the SOUR album shoot, coupled with two singles that sound like SOUR album cuts and then a whole album that feels like SOUR part 2, I just think it was all too samey.

 

But, she still has a huge amount of social capital, and all it would take is the tiniest of stylistic change to keep her on top for the next album, I don't think she's in any danger 

Taylor overshadowed her. 

although my fave is a once in a lifetime artist, i can see for liv that she is going to have a lanallah like career trajectory. instead of quick lil singles, radio payola and TTH residencies, become a streaming juggernaut loved by the people, a critical darling albums artisté selling ACCLAIMED RECORDS. people will be buying and dissecting her albums, but there won't be billboard hot #1s. she is an interscope girlie, i watched a few of her interviews and she loves the singer-songwriter aspect of music, her taste and influences are refined, as she grows older her albums will keep maturing and become more complex and something tells me that she WILL take that route. guts is already much better than sour, she is already leaning into that folk/acoustic moments. mark my words.

hasn't there been like 50+ topics about this album "underperforming/flopping"... You guys are exhausting... It's doing just fine. I feel like yoll expect everyone do as well as Taylor... smh 

26 minutes ago, Machete said:

It has been 7 weeks? I would ******* hope so?  It is currently #10 and is guaranteed to not even make it to a measly 12 weeks. Mind you moderately successful pop girl albums like Renaissance or 30 did 14 weeks let alone Olivia’s MEGAAA smash of SOUR doing 55

 

 

OT: OP you won’t get the responses you should be getting in this thread. Randomly the stan world is vehemently against calling a spade a spade and recognizing GUTS as a MASSIVE underperformance. I think it may just be a lack of education on chart knowledge and getting blinded by shiny statistics like “#1 single!!1!1!1!”. In 3 years or so they’ll probably wake up and realize.

So what’s the problem? She has one of the biggest albums of the year. What is she missing???

she said arts not the charts

She needs to ditch this punk/rock image she's trying to sell us on. She's a Disney girl that is best on her piano writing POP songs and should embrace that. 

I just don't think Vampire was a strong enough lead single to give this era legs.

I like the album but Vampire going #1 definitely tricked some people into thinking this would be a huge era...

 

In reality, a majority of GUTS is already being outstreamed by SOUR album tracks

 

Daily Streams:

happier - 806,905

favorite crime - 648,792

jealousy, jealousy - 539,556

-

the grudge - 532,164

lacy - 498,269

love is embarrassing - 405,274

ballad of a homeschooled girl - 393,913

making the bed - 380,875

logical - 365,655

pretty isn’t pretty - 286,038

teenage dream - 238,551

 

1 hour ago, wish said:

I like the album but Vampire going #1 definitely tricked some people into thinking this would be a huge era...

 

In reality, a majority of GUTS is already being outstreamed by SOUR album tracks

 

Daily Streams:

happier - 806,905

favorite crime - 648,792

jealousy, jealousy - 539,556

-

the grudge - 532,164

lacy - 498,269

love is embarrassing - 405,274

ballad of a homeschooled girl - 393,913

making the bed - 380,875

logical - 365,655

pretty isn’t pretty - 286,038

teenage dream - 238,551

 

Oh wow, i didn't even realize some SOUR tracks were already doing better numbers than GUTS tracks, that's... not good 

 

And yeah, some people in this thread are definitively in denial about Olivia's numbers. Having a #1 album/#1 single does not mean that your album era is as big as the previous one. She's clearly having a sophomore slump and it's ok to admit it.

I'll say this but...

 

I think Vampire as the lead single was the wrong choice. Had she chosen Bad Idea Right or Get Him Back she could've showcased a change in sound that might've interested the gp, because Vampire was a quick #1 (I think she could've gotten a #1 no matter what the song was, she had the hype), that just fizzled out

38 minutes ago, Truth Teller said:

The album doesn't have a strong enough uptempo to become the era's Good For You and carry it to prolonged smashery. Hence the second single fumble. That's all there really is to it, there's no think piece material here. The album still did well.

And this is the answer. The album is a decline in quality and it just doesn’t have any strong hits. 

55 minutes ago, Machete said:

 I think it may just be a lack of education on chart knowledge and getting blinded by shiny statistics like “#1 single!!1!1!1!”. In 3 years or so they’ll probably wake up and realize.

ATRL said the exact same thing about the Happier Than Ever era and after 3 years it will be past 2x Platinum and the average track will have moved over 1.5M units in the U.S. The streaming era is not about immediate success - it’s about maintaining strong daily streams over time. Counting an album out for its performance before the first 6 months is up is premature.

 

Also, the album will be Platinum in November, Vampire is 2x Platinum, BIR is Platinum and GHB is about to go Gold. She’s doing just fine.

33 minutes ago, wish said:

I like the album but Vampire going #1 definitely tricked some people into thinking this would be a huge era...

 

In reality, a majority of GUTS is already being outstreamed by SOUR album tracks

 

Daily Streams:

happier - 806,905

favorite crime - 648,792

jealousy, jealousy - 539,556

-

the grudge - 532,164

lacy - 498,269

love is embarrassing - 405,274

ballad of a homeschooled girl - 393,913

making the bed - 380,875

logical - 365,655

pretty isn’t pretty - 286,038

teenage dream - 238,551

 

It shows that people want ballads from her not Avril 2.0. Explains a lot. Also seems like these new pop stars don’t have hype like the old gen (Adele with 25, Katy with Prism, Gaga with BTW, Taylor with Reputation or Speak Now)

Edited October 29, 20232 yr by VioletsandRoses

1 hour ago, blown away said:

She's in her Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie era. After a huge breakthrough era and a lot of hype, the lead single is big but everything after that doesn't seem to catch on.

 

That's okay though, not every album can be SOUR-sized.

Reasonable take rooted in reality

 

She released an uninteresting lead and then fumbled trying to get something interesting out by rushing BIR & GHB. Then her album is ballad heavy when her lyrics aren’t that interesting and she’s not an emotive singer.

 

The label failed her by pushing for a rehash of SOUR.

1 hour ago, NoOneDiesFromLove said:

I'll say this but...

 

I think Vampire as the lead single was the wrong choice. Had she chosen Bad Idea Right or Get Him Back she could've showcased a change in sound that might've interested the gp, because Vampire was a quick #1 (I think she could've gotten a #1 no matter what the song was, she had the hype), that just fizzled out

That's the thing right there: coming off from the SOUR era, there was NO WAY the lead single from GUTS would not be #1 first week, not after such a massive album. But yeah, she fizzled out quickly because the GP didn't connect with the music as much.

Interscope never knocks it out of the park with sophomore albums from pop girls. It’s doing about the same as Gaga and Billie did their second go around.

3 hours ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

what happened:

 

she released an amazing successful album that was universally acclaimed, had a global #1 hit and already has a sold out worldwide arena tour with all its tracks being TOP 40 hits. The album is just slightly less successful than the previous one. So ******* what? Literally nothing happened outside of poor marketing compared to her debut. 

Posts like this don't even address how the GUTS era is clearly less successful than the SOUR era, why do you try to pretend otherwise? In my original post i NEVER said that GUTS was a total flop 

1) she released a better album than SOUR

2) she established her sound and build on her fanbase and is about to go on a big tour

3) the era’s visuals and sound are too SOUR-like to really make an impact

4) it is an underperformance 

5) she can easily bounce back next era and hasn’t lost anything per se

isn't doing good numbers in the U.S? but yeah to me it feels like a non-event worldwide.

She was a Tik tok fad

They thought they had two great singles and didn't. Simple as that. She lacks a total banger and radio fodder but she's got the acclaim and the music and the fans. Overall it's a solid hit but would've been bigger with better singles.

 

I think and I hope she'll record a new single, either for a deluxe edition or for another project because she can't take as big of a break post-GUTS as she did post-SOUR because her star will potentially fade. 

3 hours ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

The album is just slightly less successful than the previous one.

SOUR= 7 tracks with over 1B streams

 

Are you saying GUTS will get at least 5?

Are you asking why an artist has had the notorious sophomore slump?

Taylor overshadowed her i fear